Disney Cruise Line in a Jiffy: What is a Double Dip Cruise?

A cruise line’s private port stops are often guest favorites. Disney Cruise Line has two private ports: Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point and Castaway Cay. When a Disney Cruise visits one of these ports twice, or both ports, it’s called a Double Dip. If your cruise goal is to sail around on a floating resort that stops off at a beach from time to time, a Double Dip might be just your ticket!

Private ports are beloved by guests because everything is just a bit easier. The cruise line controls everything about a private port, with exclusive access for cruise passengers. These tropical playgrounds feature bountiful (included!) food, beaches with provided chairs and umbrellas, and protected coves or calm beaches for swimming. There’s plenty of recreation, both water-focused and otherwise. And purchases can be conveniently charged to your stateroom.

Disney Cruise Line’s private ports are no exception, and each year Disney offers several Double Dip sailings. On shorter 4- and 5-night cruises, these Double Dips may only visit Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay! Here’s how to find Double Dip itineraries.

Head for the Disney Cruise Line website and tap “Sailing To” in the “Find a Cruise” section. Select one of the private ports, and then tap “View Dates”. You can add more filters if you’re looking for particular dates or ships. Selecting only cruises less than 7 nights will be most likely to yield Double Dips that only stop at Disney’s ports.

Selecting one of the “Disney’s Island Destinations” filters means your list won’t contain any cruises that don’t sail to the port you chose. But, it will still contain many cruises that don’t sail to both island destinations. So the next step is to scan down the list of itineraries and find the ones that list both ports.

You’ll find the ports listed on the bottom of the itinerary tile, just to the right of the image (or just below, if your screen is narrow). Once you’ve found an itinerary tile that lists both ports, tap the “Show Dates” button to see more specifics about the sailings, like departure dates and ships.

If a Double Dip isn’t important to you, you may want to compare prices with similar itineraries that don’t include both ports. Many things go into differences in sailing price – ship, specific dates, departure port, etc. But a Double Dip may be priced higher than a similar sailing that would meet your needs.

Castaway Cay opened in 1998, and for many years, a Double Dip sailing meant two stops at Castaway Cay. Disney would mark those itineraries at the top with a “Two Stops at Castaway Cay” banner. When Lookout Cay opened in June 2024, Disney itself decreed that the term Double Dip would apply to sailings that stop at both ports. These days, very few sailings stop twice at Castaway Cay; most Double Dips go to both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay. But if you look carefully, you may still find a card marked with “Two Stops at Castaway Cay”. Most often, these are Triple Dips that stop at Lookout Cay once and Castaway Cay twice!

To read more about what’s available in each of Disney’s private ports (they’re a bit different) see:

• Disney Cruise Line in a Jiffy: What is Castaway Cay?
• Disney Cruise Line in a Jiffy: What is Lookout Cay?

Disney Cruise Line in a Jiffy is for first-time Disney cruisers looking to learn about the DCL experience. Got a Disney Cruise Line term that you want to see explained? Suggest it in the comments below!